Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Technology: Small Businesses

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to help London’s small technology companies and to protect technology talent.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: We are committed to ensuring that Britain is the best place in Europe to innovate, patent new ideas and start a business, including small tech businesses. Innovate UK provides support to businesses across the UK with around 60% of its grant funding going to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to help them to develop new ideas and recruit and retain tech talent. We are supporting more companies to do research and development through the UK’s R&D Tax Credits scheme. The total of R&D support claimed rose to £2.45bn in 2014-15, an increase of £675m (38%) on the previous year.An example of a specific activity in London is Tech City UK (TCUK), funded by Government, who focus their efforts to accelerate the growth of digital businesses at all stages of their development across the UK. TCUK creates a positive culture in relation to digital technology and technological entrepreneurship, and fosters the right policy and business environment for start-up and high-growth entrepreneurial businesses. It does this by connecting entrepreneurs to other businesses and investors, whilst also providing a vital feedback loop to government to ensure that policy development is fit for purpose.

Educational Exchanges: EU Countries

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they will work with universities in the UK and EU to ensure that exchange programmes similar to the Erasmus programme will continue after the UK leaves the EU.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The referendum result has no immediate effect on students abroad under the Erasmus scheme or applying for 2016/17. Payments will be made in the usual way. Access to the programme after we leave the EU is a matter for the forthcoming negotiations. Consideration of other options will depend on the outcome of these negotiations.

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much has been paid in subsidies to off-shore wind farms in each of the last two years.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Offshore wind projects currently receive support under the Renewables Obligation scheme. Support for each of the last two years is shown below in nominal prices: Renewables Obligation support (£million )2014/152015/16Offshore wind£1,108.0£1,429.7 Source Ofgem:Renewables Obligation library: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/environmental-programmes/ro/contacts-publications-and-data/publications-library-renewables-obligation-roRenewables Obligation Annual Report 2014-15: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications-and-updates/renewables-obligation-ro-annual-report-2014-15Renewables Obligation register: https://www.renewablesandchp.ofgem.gov.uk/Public/ReportManager.aspx?ReportVisibility=1&ReportCategory=0

Hewlett-Packard

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to refer Hewlett-Packard Co (Ltd) to the Competition and Markets Authority for making their printers incompatible with non-HP printer cartridges.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Government does not have the power to direct the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to undertake investigations into breaches of competition law. The CMA is an independent authority which decides on which cases to investigate based on available evidence. If there is evidence that Hewlett-Packard is acting in an anti-competitive manner, this should be provided to the CMA which will assess it against its published prioritisation principles.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

UN Human Rights Council

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the criteria set by the UN General Assembly for election to the UN Human Rights Council in Resolution 60/251 in relation to the candidacies of China, Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: The UK carefully considers its votes against the criteria set out by the UN General Assembly; that members uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights and fully cooperate with the Council. It is the UK's longstanding policy not to publicise how it votes.

Asia Bibi

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan about the imminent appeal hearing for Asia Bibi at the Pakistani Supreme Court on the charge of blasphemy.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: On 13 October the Supreme Court in Pakistan postponed Ms Asia Bibi's appeal hearing indefinitely. I remain concerned about Ms Bibi and continue to follow developments in her case closely. We raise regularly our concerns about misuse of the blasphemy laws with the Pakistani Government, and continue to urge Pakistan to adhere to its international obligations and uphold the rule of law. During his visit to Pakistan in March, the former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my Rt Hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), made clear our concerns about minority communities and misuse of the blasphemy laws.The UK supported the EU statement of October 2014 following the decision of the Lahore High Court to uphold the conviction of Ms Bibi. We will continue to work with our EU and other international partners to ensure our views are made clear to the Pakistani authorities.

North Korea: Human Rights

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are their reasons for not imposing human rights sanctions against designated North Korean persons suspected of mass human rights violations and crimes against humanity.

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: We continue to have discussions with international partners about ways to increase the pressure on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to improve its appalling human rights record. We are currently discussing a response to the DPRK's nuclear and ballistic missile programme at the UN Security Council. We are also discussing a further resolution on DPRK human rights at the UN General Assembly Third Committee to maintain the focus of international attention on their appalling human rights record.We will always consider the full range of measures at our disposal and carefully consider the impact and benefits of sanctions measures before they are imposed. These considerations include our ability to defend the legality of the sanctions should they be challenged under EU law and the likelihood of achieving our objective of a denuclearised DPRK which abides by international norms and respects the human rights of its citizens.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Nuisance Calls

Baroness Altmann: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action they are planning to take to prevent cold calling for pension scams.

Lord Ashton of Hyde: My Department is in conversations with Her Majesty’s Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions on how best we tackle nuisance calls and the scams associated with them, which is a priority for the Government. We are exploring several measures that will help strengthen the Information Commissioner’s enforcement powers against those organisations that continue to breach the direct marketing rules. Specific measures under consideration are; extending the Information Commissioner’s powers of compulsory audit to more of the organisations that generate nuisance calls and exploring the options for enabling the Information Commissioner to hold company directors to account for breaches of the direct marketing rules. The Government will continue to work closely with the City of London Police (CoLP), the national lead force for fraud, to help local forces and partners deliver protective advice to the public on fraud, including phone scams. CoLP operates Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cyber crime, and the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau, to ensure that the public has the information they need to protect themselves from telephone fraud. Action Fraud, for example, places an alert on its website when a serious threat or new type of fraud is identified - which members of the public can sign up to receive by email.

Nuisance Calls

Baroness Altmann: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the risk of pension fraud and scams, what are their reasons for not banning cold calling about pensions.

Lord Ashton of Hyde: We are determined to tackle the scourge of nuisance calls especially those of a fraudulent nature. Our efforts are focused on taking action against companies that are deliberating break the rules, rather than penalising legitimate businesses who comply with the law. My Department is in conversations with Her Majesty’s Treasury and the Department for Work and Pensions on how best we tackle scams as a result of pensions cold calls.

Nuisance Calls

Lord Browne of Belmont: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to protect members of the public from unsolicited telephone calls.

Lord Ashton of Hyde: The Government is determined to tackle the problem of nuisance calls, and is considering implementing a number of legislative measures to provide better consumer protection, from unsolicited telephone calls. These measures include; extending the Information Commissioner's powers of compulsory audit to organisations that generate nuisance calls and holding company directors to account for breaches of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). The Government introduced a new requirement for all direct marketing callers to provide caller line identification, which came into effect on 16 May. More recently we introduced a measure in the Digital Economy Bill, making it a requirement for the Information Commissioner to issue a statutory code of practice on direct marketing, which will support a reduction in the number of unwanted direct marketing calls.

Ministry of Defence

Syria: Military Intervention

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to use British aircraft as part of an international effort to enforce a no-fly zone intended to stop Russian attacks on Syria.

Earl Howe: The Government understands the attraction of an internationally supported no-fly zone in Syria. We have not ruled out any options as we continue to work to identify what more the international community can do to support the UN and help the people of Syria, but the practicalities of any no-fly zone would need to be considered very carefully with partners.

Royal Fleet Auxiliary: Tankers

Lord Moonie: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they expect the financial problems of the South Korean Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering firm to affect the delivery of the four Tide-class tankers to the Ministry of Defence on-time, on-price and on-specification.

Earl Howe: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is actively reviewing its position to mitigate any potential impact on the Tide class tanker programme.We are confident that our commercial arrangement with Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) provides suitable financial protection to the MOD. The specification of the Tide class tankers has not been impacted by DSME's financial situation. We are continuing to review delivery timelines with the company and remain confident that all four tankers will be in service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary by the end of 2018, as planned.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Families: Disadvantaged

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 19 September (HL1467), how much they will pay Ecorys for the production of their report evaluating the Troubled Families Programme; and whether that fee will be reduced in the light of the reported problems with methodology and the consequent delay in the completion and publication of that report.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The evaluation, published on 17 October, comprises several different strands including longitudinal case studies in twenty local authorities, in-depth longitudinal research with families, a face-to-face survey of over 800 families, an impact study using national administrative datasets, the development of a cost savings calculator for local authorities, and a local monitoring system for all local authorities to record family problems. The total value of these strands amount to £1.16 Million (0.2 per cent of the total programme budget).

Homelessness

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what data is collected, and with what frequency, by local authorities in England regarding homelessness applications.

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what data they collect, and with what frequency, regarding homelessness applications.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: English local authorities submit data on homelessness applications to the Department on a quarterly basis on the P1E form. A copy of the form (attached) can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homelessness-data-notes-and-definitions



PIE Form
(Excel SpreadSheet, 275.5 KB)

Homelessness

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the circumstances in which an individual can be assessed as having a housing priority need in a local authority in England.

Baroness Gould of Potternewton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have any plans to issue guidance to local authorities on the definition of priority with regards to homelessness applications in England.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: England has a strong homelessness safety net in legislation, as set out in the Housing Act 1996. The circumstances by which an applicant will be deemed to be in priority need are outlined in the statutory Homelessness Code of Guidance for Local Authorities (2006). Chapter Ten of the Code of Guidance outlines the following categories of applicant who have a priority need for accommodation under the homelessness legislation:i) a pregnant woman or a person with whom she resides or might reasonably be expected to reside;ii) a person with whom dependent children reside or might reasonably be expected to reside;iii) a person who is vulnerable as a result of old age, mental illness or handicap or physical disability or other special reason, or with whom such a person resides or might reasonably be expected to reside;iv) a person aged 16 or 17 who is not a ‘relevant child’ or a child in need to whom a local authority owes a duty under section 20 of the Children Act 1989;v) a person under 21 who was (but is no longer) looked after, accommodated or fostered between the ages of 16 and 18;vi) a person aged 21 or more who is vulnerable as a result of having been looked after, accommodated or fostered;vii) a person who is vulnerable as a result of having been a member of Her Majesty’s regular naval, military or air forces;viii) a person who is vulnerable as a result of:a) having served a custodial sentence,(b) having been committed for contempt of court or any other kindred offence, or(c) having been remanded in custody;ix) a person who is vulnerable as a result of ceasing to occupy accommodation because of violence from another person or threats of violence from another person which are likely to be carried out;x) a person who is vulnerable for any other special reason, or with whom such a person resides or might reasonably be expected to reside; andxi) a person who is homeless, or threatened with homelessness, as a result of an emergency such as flood, fire or other disaster.

Health: Finance

Lord Mawhinney: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what financial resources they transferred to local authorities in 2015–16 which were designated to be spent on the provision of public health services; and what is their estimate of how much was spent on the provision of such services.

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: The public health grant is provided to give local authorities the funding needed to discharge their public heath responsibilities. The total allocation for 2015-16 was £2.80 billion. All details of this grant and the allocations which were made can be found at - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ring-fenced-public-health-grants-to-local-authorities-2013-14-and-2014-15.

Cabinet Office

European Parliament: Elections

Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they plan to repeal the European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002 which provides for elections to the European Parliament.

Baroness Chisholm of Owlpen: On 23 June, the EU referendum took place and the people of the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. That is exactly what this Government will deliver. We will review in due course the appropriate legislative changes needed to enable Britain’s exit from the European Union. Our Great Repeal Bill will end the primacy of EU law in the UK, and transpose the acquis into domestic law, helping us in this process.

Department for International Trade

North Korea: Sanctions

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their assessment of the effect of the United States' North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act of 2016 (H.R. 757) on UK-owned businesses and UK nationals which conduct business with the government of North Korea or its state-owned companies.

Lord Price: The Government has made no such assessment.